SoulPad?

'Virtual PCs' travel via USB. Not a religious sect, just a small miracle. [CNET News.com]

6:20:11 PM    

Why podcasts are attracting attention in e-Learning.

Susan makes some good points in this article. However, she doesn't show where podcasting actually results in learning. Agreed, many people will listen to podcasts, and may even prefer to listen to podcasts over other multimedia. But is it an effective learning strategy?

We need some research here, and comparison of podcasts with actual effective interactive e-Learning apps (not "watching a 20 or 30 minute presentation" on a monitor) .

Podcasts and E-Learning: Cognitive Theories of Multimedia vs. Actual Practice

Written by Susan Smith Nash on August 8, 2005 in Online Learning

[XplanaZine]

1:00:06 PM    

PDAs as teaching tools.

Note: this addresses use of PDAs without wireless connections.

PDAs add new dimension to distance learning - Les Chappell, Wisconsin Technology. Forget a computer on every desktop - the future of learning is a computer in the palm of every hand. It's learning that can engage diverse audiences - from uncommunicative high school students to members of the Armed Forces - in methods that can blend rea [Online Learning Update]

12:39:22 PM    

Wharton School looks at the future of learning.

From the article: "What, then, are we to make of broadband digital networks and interactive multimedia? How will these technologies affect learning in the future? Will we use IT merely to replicate traditional teaching methods—substituting Web-based documents for printed textbooks and remote "distance-learning" sessions for on-campus classrooms? Or will these technologies introduce new methods of learning that differ fundamentally from traditional classroom teaching techniques such as the teacher-directed lecture or the case-study method? The short answer is… we don’t know. While it is reasonable to believe that IT will change the nature of education to some degree, the details are much less clear."

Web-Enabled Simulations: Exploring the Learning Process - Kendall Whitehouse, Educause Quarterly. The Wharton School explores whether Web-enabled simulations provide new ways of learning that are fundamentally unlike traditional methods. There is a frequently voiced belief that information technology (IT) will transform the educational process. We of [Online Learning Update]

12:35:39 PM    

News from the front: Flash 8 issues surface.

Flash 8 - what's missing....

Code Collapse - Code Collapse - Code Collapse

Dreamweaver 8 got it, but not Flash 8.

what ever happened to that "unified editors" between products in the suite?

[More ...]

12:30:49 PM    

Palm OS continues move to Linux, mobile phones.

PalmSource to partner with mobile Linux provider.

(InfoWorld) - Building on its original decision last year to move its OS to the Linux kernel, PalmSource announced Tuesday a partnership with key mobile Linux OS provider MontaVista Software. The two companies plan to promote the development of Linux-based OSes and applications for Linux-based mobile phones.

The deal does not change PalmSource's plans to use technology acquired in its December acquisition of China MobileSoft. At the time of the acquisition, PalmSource said it would use the technology that China MobileSoft had been developing around battery management and fast boot time as the foundation of Palm OS for Linux.

Diaz said that by using the Linux kernel -- the plumbing, as he called it -- as the basis for the OS, PalmSource will be able to leverage the Linux community for software development.

Use of the Linux kernel will also serve as an entry point for PalmSource into the lucrative cell phone market with a low-cost flexible OS. According to Diaz, in contrast to a Microsoft OS, Linux offers more design flexibility and, because it is open source, a guaranteed lower licensing fee.

"Linux is a built-in safeguard against higher fees," Diaz said. "Open source prevents the price from getting too high by limiting the power of any given player."

[InfoWorld: Top News]

12:23:46 PM    

Opera browser supports mobile phones.

Another development for m-learning mavens to keep an eye on.

Opera Announces Browser for Mobile Phones (AP). AP - Opera Software ASA on Wednesday announced a new version of its Internet browser that allows Web surfing from almost any mobile phone, even inexpensive ones with little built-in memory. [Yahoo! News: Technology News]

12:09:44 PM